Shampoo composition



United States Patent No Drawing. Filed .lan. 29, 1964, Ser. No. 341,110 1 Claim. (ill. 252--153) This invention relates generally to a shampoo composition, article, and method of producing same and, more particularly, to a composition for washing, a cloth article impregnated with the composition, and a method of impregnating the cloth with the composition. This is a continuation-in-part of my patent applications Serial No. 807,021, filed April 17, 1959, and Serial Number 828,959, filed July 23, 1959, and Serial Number 7,094, filed February 8, 1960, all now abandoned.

In the past, many compositions have been developed for washing the hair, skin, and the like, but they have been somewhat limited in their ability to produce suds. Also, they have invariably removed the oils from the hair and scalp and provided ideal conditions for the development of scalp diseases, such as dandruff and eczema. Also, attempts to impregnate a pad with the previously-known shampoo compositions have failed, principally because the composition has washed out upon the first use of the pad; it has been impossible to obtain a pad which retains a shampooing composition after several uses. There has, therefore, been considerable unsatisfied demand for a rich-sudsing composition and a pad carrying this composition in an impregnated form, which pad may be used many times before the composition is exhausted. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art compositions and devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a shampoo composition having a high ability to produce suds, a pad containing the composition in impregnated form and capable of long continued use, and a method for properly impregnating the composition in the pad.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a composition for cleaning the hair and improving hair texture, which composition has a high rate of sudsing and which contains certain chemical constitutents which have a skin nourishing function.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a shampoo which has a skin nourishing function which has a tendency to inhibit scalp diseases.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of an impregnated pad for use in shampooing the hair or the like, which pad has an extremely long life of use.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a method of impregnating a pad with a shampoo com position in such a manner that the pad can be used for shampooing the hair and the like for a considerable period of time before it must be discarded.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of improving shampoo compositions to give them greater sudsing ability.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a process for impregnating cloth with a shampoo composition or the like.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a method of impregnating cloth with a shampoo composition and treating the resultant impregnated cloth to cause the composition to be released gradually during use.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features herein- Patented August 16, 1966 after fully described and particularly pointed out in the claim, the following description setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the varous ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

Generally speaking, the invention related to the provision of a bath or solution of a shampoo composition containing an emulsifying agent, a sudsing agent, a fixing agent, and a penetrant agent. The composition is treated to improve its characteristics and, then, a cloth is passed through the bath. The cloth is treated and is then ready for use.

A specific example of the use of the principles of the invention is as follows:

A bath was produced having the following content:

Percent Triethylanolamine lauryl sulphate 18.7 Diethylanolamine lauryl sulphate 18.7 Polyethylene glycol 400 dilaurate 1.0 Ninol AA62 5.0 Arachidonic acid .5

and the remainder water.

The bath mixture containing the ingredients enumerated above was heated to F. and allowed to cool. The resulting composition was found to have an extremely high sudsing ability and was an excellent shampooing composition in every way.

A web of a non-woven cloth fabric, similar to cotton felt, was passed through the bath at a speed approximating one foot per minute. As the impregnated cloth left the bath it was passed through a roller press properly adjusted to a definite spacing between the rolls. Now, the original cloth fabric had a thickness of 0.058", while the spacing between the rolls of the roller press was set at 0.053". The net effect was that the excess of the bath composition was removed from the impregnated cloth. The cloth, after passing through the roller press, was returned to the bath again. This procedure was repeated three times. After the impregnated cloth left the roller press for the third time, it was passed into a drying oven, set with a constant temperature of 220 F.; the speed of the cloth was carefully maintained at a speed no faster than one foot per minute. After the impregnated cloth left the drying oven, it was cut into smallsized pieces. It was found that the cloth so impregnated and so treated had the ability to shampoo the hair and wash the skin in an excellent manner with a large volume of suds. After it was so used, it was possible to dry it and, then, to re-use it again many times before it was no longer useful as a shampoo article. The composition demonstrated a skin nourishing effect functioning to reduce dandruff and eczema.

An interesting aspect of the use of the impregnated cloth described above is that it apparently dispenses the shampoo in a uniform manner. That is to say, after it has had several uses it still gives off the requisite volume of suds necessary for shampooing and it does so substantially in the same manner that it did when freshly made and when it had never been used before.

It was clear that a pad impregnated in this manner had a shelf life of several years and it appeared that in no way was a free discharge of the impregnated material prevented, despite the fact that all the impregnant did not come off the pad simultaneously, as had been true in previously-known articles of this kind.

It should be noted that the Ninol AA62 is an agent manufactured by the Ninol Labratories, Inc. and constitutes a foam-stabilizing amide for use with alkyl aryl sulphonates or lauryl sulphates to improve sudsing in the presence of grease. More specifically, Ninol AA62 is a mixture of lauric diethanolamide and diethanolamine.

'2 :3 In general, the triethanolamine lauryl sulphate is a wetting agent and the diethanolamine lauryl sulphate is an emulsifying agent, while the polyunsaturated fatty acids are penetrants, which, in the case of the human flesh, prepare the tissues to receive oils and also help the tissues resist certain skin conditions; the fatty acids thus described have a therapeutic effect on the skin and hair.

In the step of drying the impregnated fabric in a drying oven, it is also possible to pass the band of the fabric over and around three steel drum rollers, each roller being hollow and containing steam at 5 psi. at 220 F. As the cloth leaves the rollers it is in finished condition.

The above example was repeated using the same formulation, but, instead of using 18.7% triethanolamine lauryl sulphate, only 5.0% was used. The results were substantially the same. Another example was tried using the same formulation but using instead 25.0% triethanolamine lauryl sulphate, the rest of the process being the same; a useful shampoo Was obtained and a useful impregnated pad. The experiment was repeated using the first-named formulation but using instead 5.0% of diethanolamine lauryl sulphate with satisfactory results. When 25.0% diethanolamine lauryl sulphate was used, the results were satisfactory also. Then, the experiment was repeated using the same formulation as the first described example but using only 2.5% of Ninol AA62 with satisfactory results. Similar results were obtained when 7.0% of Ninol AA62 was used. Finally, an example was attempted using 5.0% of arachidonic acid instead of the 0.5% set forth in the original example. The benefits of the invention were obtained in this case also.

The above example was repeated using the following formulation:

Percent Triethanolamine lauryl sulphate 18.7 Diethanolamine lauryl sulphate 18.7 Polyethylene glycol 400 dilaurate 1.0 NinolAA62 5.0 Clupanodonic acid .5

and the remainder water.

The effectiveness as a shampoo and as a skin nourishing agent was similar to that obtained in the original example.

The experiment was repeated, but using the same amount of all substances, but substituting linoleic acid for the arachidonic acid; the results were entirely satisfactory. The experiment was also carried out using linoleic acid in place of the arachidonic acid and the resulting shampoo was satisfactory, but did not function quite as well as when the arachidonic acid was used.

The arachidonic acid, the clupanodonic acid, the linoleic acid, and the linolenic acid all belong to a class known as essential polyunsaturated fatty acids and are described on pages 77, 84, and 463 of the book, Human Biochemistry, 4th Edition (1954), published by C. V. Mosby Company of St. Louis, Missouri.

Other modes of applying the principles of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in the following claim or the equivalent of such be employed.

The invention having been thus described, What is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent,

A shampoo composition consisting essentially of triethanolamine lauryl sulphate in the range from 5% to 25% by weight, diethanolamine lauryl sulphate in the range from 5% to 25% by weight, 1% polyethylene glycol, 400 dilaurate, the stabilizing amide which is a mixture of lauric diethanolamide and diet-hanolamine in the range from 2.5 to 7% by weight, an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid selected from the group consist ing of arachidonic acid, clupondonic acid, linoleic acid, and linolenic acid in the range from 0.5 to 5.0% by weight, and the remainder water.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,711,397 6/1955 Owen et al 252152 2,891,912 6/1959 Schwartz 252-152 3,001,949 9/1961 Hansen 252-153 3,072,580 1/1963 Laiderman 252-152 FOREIGN PATENTS 656,210 8/ 1951 Great Britain. 793,382 1/1936 France.

OTHER REFERENCES Harris, Shampoo Formulation, The American Perfumer and Essential Oil Review (November 1946).

Markley, Fatty Acids, Interscience Publ. Inc. (1947), pages 30-36.

Polyethylene Glycol Esters, Kessler Chem. Co. (1948), pages 5 and 9 relied on.

ALBERT T. MEYERS, Primary Examiner.

JULIUS GREENWALD, Examiner.

W. E. SCHULZ, Assistant Examiner. 

